Sir Reginald William Goff, PC (22 March 1907 – 17 January 1980) was a British judge. He was a

Lord Justice of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Just ...

between 1975 and his death in 1980, when he was known as Lord Justice Goff.

Biography

The son of William Kingsley Goff and Louisa Goff, Reginald Goff was educated at Sutton County Grammar School,

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

(Fellow, 1970) and

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

(Fellow, 1968). He took an LL.B. with first-class honours in 1928, and won the Certificate of Honour in the Bar examination the same year. He was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

in 1929 (Bencher, 1959; Treasurer, 1974). During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he served in the

Auxiliary Fire Service The Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) was first formed in 1938 in Great Britain as part of the Civil Defence Service. Its role was to supplement the work of brigades at local level. The Auxiliary Fire Service and the local brigades were superseded ...

until 1942, then in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

until 1946; he was an assistant judge advocate general from 1945 to 1946. Goff was appointed a

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1953 and was elected to the

General Council of the Bar The General Council of the Bar, commonly known as the Bar Council, is the representative body for barristers in England and Wales. Established in 1894, the Bar Council is the "approved regulator" of barristers, but delegates its regulatory functi ...

in 1958. He was appointed a Justice of the High Court in 1965 and received the customary

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

, and was assigned to the

Chancery Division The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (England ...

. On the High Court bench, he was judicially known as Mr Justice Goff. He was appointed a

in 1975 and was sworn of the Privy Council. Goff died on 17 January 1980; the next day, his judgment in ''McIlkenny v Chief Constable of the West Midlands''

980 Year 980 ( CMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Peace is concluded between Emperor Otto II (the Red) and King Lothair III (or Lothair IV) at Margut, ending the Franco-Germa ...

QB 283, a case concerning the

Birmingham Six The Birmingham Six were six men from Northern Ireland who were each sentenced to life imprisonment in 1975 following their false convictions for the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings. Their convictions were declared unsafe and unsatisfactory and q ...

, was read out in court by Sir George Baker. Goff is sometimes confused with the better-known

Robert Goff, Baron Goff of Chieveley Robert Lionel Archibald Goff, Baron Goff of Chieveley, , Queen's Counsel, QC (12 November 1926 – 14 August 2016) was an English Barristers in England and Wales, barrister and judge who was Lords of Appeal in Ordinary#Senior and Second Senior ...

, who was a Lord Justice of Appeal between 1982 and 1986, and who was known judicially as Mr Justice Robert Goff and Lord Justice Robert Goff. See the judgment of Lord Scott of Foscote in '' Cobbe v Yeoman's Row Management Ltd''

008 008, OO8, O08, or 0O8 may refer to: * "008", a fictional 00 Agent In Ian Fleming's James Bond novels and the derived films, the 00 Section of MI6 is considered the secret service's elite. A 00 (pronounced "Double O") is a field agent who ho ...

UKHL 55, at 4

Family

Goff married in 1944 Marjorie Morwenna Curnow, daughter of the Rev. A. Garfield Curnow; they had two daughters.

Notable cases

* '' Re Gulbenkian's Settlements Trusts'' - overturned on appeal * '' Re Denley's Trust Deed'' 9691 Ch 373 * '' Re West Sussex Constabulary's Widows, Children and Benevolent (1930) Fund Trusts''

971 Year 971 ( CMLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Battle of Dorostolon: A Byzantine expeditionary army (possibly 30–40,000 men) attacks the Bulgarian frontier, perso ...

Ch 1 * '' Aluminium Industrie Vaassen BV v Romalpa Aluminium Ltd''

976 Year 976 ( CMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * January 10 – Emperor John I Tzimiskes dies at Constantinople, after returning from a second campaign against ...

1 WLR 676 * ''

DHN Food Distributors Ltd v Tower Hamlets LBC ''DHN Food Distributors Ltd v Tower Hamlets London Borough Council'' 9761 WLR 852 is a UK company law case where, on the basis that a company should be compensated for loss of its business under a compulsory acquisition order, a group was recog ...

1 WLR 852 * '' Daulia Ltd v Four Millbank Nominees Ltd'' 978Ch 231 * '' Re Osoba''

979 Year 979 (Roman numerals, CMLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. It was the 979th year of the Common Era and the Anno Domini designation, the 979th year of the 1st millennium, the 79th year of the 10th century, ...

1 WLR 247 * '' Re Gray's Inn Construction Co Ltd''

1 WLR 711 * '' Belmont Finance Corp Ltd v Williams Furniture Ltd (No 2)''

1 All ER 393 * '' Stonegate Securities Ltd v Gregory''

Ch 576

References

Sources

* ''The Times'', 18 January 1980 * ''The Daily Telegraph'', 18 January 1980 {{DEFAULTSORT:Goff, Reginald Knights Bachelor 1980 deaths Chancery Division judges Lord justices of appeal Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of Lincoln's Inn English King's Counsel People educated at Sutton Grammar School Alumni of King's College London Alumni of University College London Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Auxiliary firefighters Royal Air Force airmen Royal Air Force officers British firefighters 1907 births